Fixing element and use of such a fixing element for fixing an object, particularly appendages

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to a fixing element ( 33 ) extending as a flat, particularly lamellar element along a preferred direction ( 34 ) and comprising a corrugated sheet metal core ( 18 ) as a central component, said core providing the fixing element ( 33 ) with the characteristic of being integrally rigid and permanently deformable by hand, and said core being covered by a cover ( 36, 37 ). For such a fixing element, a large range of use is achieved in that the corrugations of the corrugated core sheet ( 18 ) are oriented substantially parallel to the preferred direction ( 34 ), and that means ( 38, 39 ) for releasably attaching the fixing element ( 33 ) are disposed on the fixing element ( 33 ).

The present invention relates generally to the field of medical splints, and more particularly to fastening straps for medical splints according to the preamble of claim 1 and various splint assemblies provided with fastening straps. The invention relates also to the use of such straps.

CH 689 820 A5 and WO-A197/2231 disclose medical splints, whose main characteristic is that they contain a core sheet, which may be plastically deformed by hand, without tools. The core sheet is a metal plate which is provided with corrugations, wherein ribs and channels are arranged substantially transverse to a particular direction, namely the longitudinal axis of the splint.

The corrugated core sheet, which is preferably made of aluminum and has a thickness of, for example 0.2 to 0.4 mm, is covered on both sides with a layer, which is adapted to the particular application. The inner cover layer may be formed as a cushion in order to improve the wearing comfort of the rail. The outer cover layer may be washable, in order to make the splint less sensitive to external influences.

The basic idea of this type of splint is that the corrugation of the core sheet provides a “reserve area” which facilitates the adjustment of the splint on irregular body shapes. During shaping by hand, the corrugations can be pressed locally to be flat or erected, which allow a local expansion or contraction of the splint.

In this way, wrinkling or buckling of the plate—as would be expected during the deformation of a flat plate—may be avoided. In addition, as a result of the arrangement of the corrugations transverse to the longitudinal direction during forming of the splint corresponding to the splinted body part, a stiffening of the whole splint is achieved, so that it will have almost ideal properties for quick and easy manipulation, in order to be adapted to the shape of the splinted body part, for easy and comfortable wearing, and for providing the desired high rigidity.

Up to now, resilient and flexible, mostly textile-like straps have been applied for fixing medical splints. These straps, however, did not sufficiently restrict the movement of the splinted body part. Splints fastened with such straps are disclosed among others in WO 98/49979 A1 and WO 2007/128199 A1.

In some cases, however, it is desirable to apply fastening straps with which the splinting effect can be enhanced, and which can be used for different purposes as well.

It is therefore an object of the invention to provide improved fastening straps for medical splints, which may be deformed easily without any tool and provide accurate and reliable fixation. This object is solved by the fastening straps as claimed in claims 1 to 6. Claims 7 to 13 relate to the use of the strap according to the invention.

A further object of the invention is to provide improved splint assemblies, which may be applied to body parts and which reliably restrict movement of the splinted body part. This object is solved by the splint assemblies as claimed in claims 14 to 20.

It is characteristic for the fastening strap according to the invention, that the waves of the corrugated core sheet are arranged substantially parallel to the a preferred direction of the strain, and fixing means are provided for removably securing the fastening strap. By the orientation of the ribs and channels parallel to the preferred direction, the fastening strap can absorb tensile and compressive forces in the preferred direction without changing its length. Simultaneously, due to the corrugations of the core sheet, the element may be formed manually to follow the irregular shape of a body part.

The core sheet is preferably made of aluminum and has a thickness between 0.2 mm and 1.2 mm. This makes it resistant to environmental influences and flexible enough to correspond to the purpose of use.

According to an advantageous embodiment, the fastening strap is provided with Velcro fasteners. In this way, it is a multiple use element, which can be fixed easily and with high adhesion strength, without additional tools.

To protect the core sheet and the body part to be immobilized as well as to further improve the mechanical properties, the corrugated sheet may be covered on one or on both sides with a flexible cover layer, preferably made of foam or fabric.

A preferred application of the fastening strap according to the invention consists in immobilizing a body part on or in a rigid base splint, wherein the body part is set onto or into the base and is fixed by one or more fastening straps closed round the body part and connected to the base.

The fastening straps are preferably fixed releasable on the base.

In order to adapt the fastening strap to a depression or elevation on the outer contour of the part to be immobilized, the corrugations of the core sheet may be locally flattened by hand.

The part to be immobilized is typically a limb, and the base is a medical splint, wherein the limb should be fixed in the splints. In special cases, the medical splints may be provided with additional fastening straps according to the invention, for stabilizing the splint in a certain, preferably angular configuration.

Another embodiment of the fastening strap according to the invention is an elongated bandage for a body part, wherein the fastening strap is wound to form a helical coil around the body part to be fixed.

In this case, the winding in a predetermined configuration may be stabilized by additional fixing elements applied on the outside of the coil.

The invention will be explained more in details with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein

FIG. 1 is a top view of a possible embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 shows the cross section of the strap shown on FIG. 1,

FIG. 3 shows an elbow splint known in the art, provided with flexible fastening straps;

FIG. 4 shows a longitudinal section of a fastening strap similar to FIG. 2 provided with different fastening means;

FIG. 5 shows an elbow splint assembly according to one embodiment of the invention, provided with rigid, manually deformable strip-shaped fastening straps and an additional lateral fastening strap applied for keeping the splint in the desired shape in the bend region;

FIG. 6 shows the elbow splint according to FIG. 5 provided with another lower fastening strap arranged at the bending region;

FIG. 7 is the top plan view of another embodiment of the fastening strap according to the invention, which is covered over the entire surface with releasable fastening means in the form of Velcro fastener;

FIG. 8 is the cross section of the fastening strap according to FIG. 7, wherein the Velcro fasteners are shown separately enlarged;

FIG. 9 is the cross section of a part closed round by a fastening strap according to the invention;

FIG. 10 a helical coil made of a strip-shaped fastening strap according to the invention, for fixing a body part (not shown) wrapped along the winding axis;

FIG. 11 the coil of FIG. 10, wherein the turns of the coil are fixed with respect to each other by additional external reinforcing elements;

FIG. 12 shows the use of the fastening strap according to the invention for the fixation of a finger;

FIG. 13 the schematic draft of a measuring device for quantifying the mobility of a splinted body part;

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing the flexion and extension of a wrist joint in a long palmar forearm splint fastened with conventional flexible textile fastening straps (curve B1) and with the fastening straps according to the invention (curve A1), measured with the device according to FIG. 13;

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing the lateral flexion of a wrist joint in a palmar forearm splint fastened with conventional flexible textile fastening straps (curve B2) and with the fastening straps according to the invention (curve A2), measured with the device according to FIG. 13; and

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing the lateral flexion and extension of a wrist joint in a palmar forearm splint fastened with conventional flexible textile fastening straps (curve B3) and with different fastening straps according to the invention (curves A3), measured with the device according to FIG. 13.

FIGS. 1, 2, 4, 7 and 8 show embodiments of the fastening strap according to the invention. Fastening straps 13 and 13′ of FIGS. 1, 2 and 4 will be explained further below, in connection with the use of the strap. It goes without saying that other applications within the scope of the invention are possible and may be advantageous as well.

FIG. 3 shows an elbow splint known in the art. The elbow splint 22 comprises a lower arm part 23 and an upper arm part 24, arranged in about a right angle. Both parts 23, 24 have a U-shaped cross section that accommodates the forearm and upper arm almost completely. For fixing the elbow splint 22 around the arm, flexible straps 25 according to the prior art are removably fixed on both sides of the splint to keep the arm immobilized.

The elbow splint 22 may be covered on the inside to provide wearing comfort for the patient, and may be perforated to allow air flow to the arm in the splint.

A critical area of the known elbow splint 22 is the leading end portion in which the hand rests. The hand is positioned substantially vertically in the splint and is fixed therein by a long strap 26 that passes between the thumb and the forefinger. Since this long strap 26 is also flexible, the immobilization effect is insufficient in many cases: the hand can be rotated e.g. around its longitudinal axis, in spite of the long strap 26, which can be dangerous in certain injury situations of the arm and which, anyway, reduces more or less the fixing effect of the splint.

To overcome this problem, the object of the invention is to provide rigid and effective fastening straps in place of the flexible straps 26 and in some cases strap 25. Such fastening straps are shown e.g. in FIGS. 1, 2 and 4.

The fastening strap 13 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 offers special deformation and stability properties, which are based on a corrugated sheet 18 preferably made of aluminum, as it was already proposed for use as splint material (see, WO-Al-97/2231 2). The content of the above publication is referred to in respect to the preferred dimensions and other characteristics of the corrugated core sheet 18. However, unlike in the splint material according to WO-Al 2-97/2231, the corrugations do not extend transverse to the longitudinal direction, but parallel thereto (corresponding to the direction of traction 34 in FIG. 7). This arrangement provides extra properties for the fastening strap 13. With a suitable thickness, the core sheet 18 can be shaped manually without using any special tool, wherein the ribs may be stilted by local compression, or flattened by local stretching. In this manner, the corrugated core sheet may be adjusted to any uneven shape without loosing its rigidity. In the contrary: due to the deformation of the ribs or waves, the stiffness of the material increases so that it can put up a better supporting function. At the same time, the orientation of the individual ribs and grooves parallel to the longitudinal direction or tension 34 ensure that is a stretching or compression of the material in this direction, and accordingly, no change in the length of the fastening strap can occur. The core sheet (18) is provided with a covering layer (17, 19) on one side or on both sides.

If such a fastening strap 13, strip-shaped or having a big surface or even an irregular shape is applied on an elbow splint 22 according to FIG. 3 (see FIG. 5 or 6) or on any other splint as e.g. referred to above, instead of flexible fastening straps 26, it can be adjusted to the hand in the position shown, and it holds the hand firmly in that position, due to its rigidity. Any accidental, harmful twisting of the hand is no longer possible.

If such a fastening strap 13—as shown in FIG. 3—is used with a medical splint, it is advantageous if it is covered on one or both sides with a cover sheet 19, which prevents direct skin contact with the core sheet 18. The material of the cover sheet may be for example a foam or a tissue. Moreover, the fastening strap may be perforated to allow air flow to the covered body parts.

For releasable attachment of the fastening strap 13 on the splint, it may be provided at the ends with fastening means 20 and 21 preferably provided with hooks (see FIG. 8) as part of a Velcro fastening system. Corresponding loops may be arranged as a counterpart on the surface of the splint. Particularly flexible system can be constructed, if the entire outer surface of the splint is covered with a Velcro material, which enables that fastening straps may be attached anywhere on the outside of the splint.

Instead of an integrated hook and loop fastener system, a fastening strap 13′ may have 27, 28 according to FIG. 4. Here the fastening means are arranged as a flexible, preferably non-stretchable straps at the ends of the fastening strap and hooks, snaps, or other releasable means are provided for fixing the fastening strap. It is also possible to stick the fastening strap with solvable (or unsolvable) glue on the splint. The fastening strap and the splint may have a one-piece design, however, that has the disadvantage that relatively much material is lost when the splint is cut to the desired shape.

It is obvious that fastening straps 13, 13′ according to FIGS. 2 and 4 may be used not only with elbow splints as shown in FIG. 3, but with any other medical splint, wherein a stable and accurate fastening of a splinted part in or on a base element is to be achieved easily and reliably. Particular reference is made to upper arm splints wherein the combination of a splint-like base and fastening straps according to the invention enables that upper arm splints may be used with a high wearing comfort by being adjusted to the particular shape of the upper arm, do not slip, and at the same time, leave sufficient room for moving the arm.

The fastening straps according to the invention used in medical splints offer the advantage of providing perfect seamless covering of the splints, due to the great number of different forms and sheet thickness. The splints may also be of different constructions: U-shaped base splint, semi-circular splint or a splint being full circular in regions, where the straps are applied. In any case, the solution offers high adaptability and high wearing comfort.

Moreover, as it is shown with respect to the elbow splint 30 in FIGS. 5 and 6—additional fastening straps 31, 32 may be used for fixing elbow splints (or other splints) in a certain (angular) configuration. The fastening straps 31, 32 are constructed analogously to the fastening straps 13, 13′ and 14, and therefore they have similar rigidity and tensile strength in longitudinal direction. If the elbow splint 30 of FIG. 5 is bent in a bending region 29 at about right or another angle, this angular position may be stabilized simply by fixing a rigid fastening strap 31 laterally obliquely over the angular range, in order to prevent a change the angle of the bend region 29. Fastening straps 31 can be mounted both on one side only or on both sides of the splint.

Elbow splint 30 or other splints as shown in FIG. 6 may be stabilized by applying fastening straps 32 for external use, when in certain situations, the inherent stiffness of the splint material is not sufficient. Such external stabilizing is carried out preferably in a bending region 29, as shown in FIG. 6. However, it can be used on other locations of a more heavily loaded splint as well. In such cases, fastening straps with greater thickness—in the range from 0.6 mm to 1, 2 mm—should be applied.

Especially extensive use can be made of the fastening strap 33 shown in FIGS. 7 and 8. Here, both sides are provided with cover layers 36 and 37 being counterparts for Velcro fasteners on the entire surface. Cover layer 36 contains loops 38, meanwhile the surface of the other cover layer 37 is provided with corresponding hooks 39. The cover layers 36 and 37 are connected at the edge, for example, by an edge seam 35 to form together a closed bag containing the corrugated core sheet 18, wherein the corrugations are arranged parallel with the preferred direction 34, as indicated in FIG. 7 by dotted lines.

The fastening strap according to the invention can be used as shown in FIG. 9, wherein a body part 40 is looped around with a fastening strap 33. Due to its special properties, the fastening strap 33 fits perfectly to the contours: recesses or a projections of the body part and/or a splint.

If the fastening strap 33 is formed as a relatively long strip, it can be used in a particularly simple and effective way for fixing bandage, as shown in FIGS. 10, 11 and 12. According to FIG. 10 is the fastening strap 33 wound around a (not shown) body part, e.g. a forearm or a lower leg or a finger (FIG. 12), and is, in this way, adjusted to the shape of the body part. The result is than a helical winding 41, which is relatively stable in shape, due to the inner core sheet 18, but may be slightly bent and compressed together or pulled apart in the longitudinal direction. The dimensional stability also depends considerably on the thickness used and is particularly high when used thicknesses of about 1 mm. By contrast, where an increased plasticity is aimed, sheet thicknesses ranging from 0.2 mm to 0.4 mm are advantageous. Preferably no gap is left between the turns of the coil.

If good plasticity should be combined with a high dimensional stability, it is advisable to choose smaller thicknesses and either preparing an overlapping coil 41, wherein the turns are stabilizing each other, or applying additional reinforcing elements 42, 43 on the outside of the coil 41 as shown in FIG. 11. The reinforcing elements are arranged in the direction the winding axis, and maintain the spacing of the windings constant, to fix the shape of the coil.

FIG. 12 shows finally the application of such a coil 44 to the light splinting of an index finger 46 of a hand 45. The movement of the finger 46 can in this way be restricted in the desired manner. By the use of additional (in FIG. 12 not shown) fastening straps, such as Velcro straps, can the coil 44 stiffened as already shown in FIG. 11. It is also possible to connect the coil 44 to a wrist or forearm splint, by means of an additional fixing member, to immobilize the wrapped finger relative to the hand or forearm. The strong fixing effect of the fastening strap according to the invention applied with medical splints, as shown, for example in FIGS. 5 and 6, was also tested experimentally. For this purpose, a forearm was seated semicircularly in a U-shaped splint, and was fastened by textile bandage and, alternatively, by fastening straps according to the present invention. A first ultrasonic marker 47 was arranged in the area of the wrist, on the back of the hand, according to FIG. 13, and a second ultrasonic marker 47 was arranged on the forearm, for transmitting ultrasonic impulses to an evaluating unit 50 via receiver 49, for the analysis of the three-dimensional motion of the hand. Such a measurement system for real-time analysis of three-dimensional movements on the field of sport and medicine is available for example under the name of Zebris CMS-Medical GmbH.

As a measure of the immobilization effect, the radial and ulnar displacement (d in FIG. 13) was recorded during the reciprocating movement of the hand for different types of splinting. FIGS. 14-16 are graphs, showing the displacements in different splints over the time.

Curves Al-A4 show the deflection when using the fastening straps according to the invention, while the curves B1-B3 show the deflection when using conventional textile bandages.

The curves in FIG. 14 show the flexion and extension in a long wrist joint splint.

The curves in FIG. 15 show the lateral flexion in a palmar forearm splint.

The curves in FIG. 16 also relate to a palmar forearm splint, wherein the fastening straps were provided with reinforcing strips made of aluminum, having different thicknesses.

Curve A3 shows the results with an aluminum sheet having the thickness of 1.2 mm, while curve A4 shows the results with an aluminum sheet having the thickness of 0.6 mm.

The above embodiments clearly prove that applying the fastening straps according to the invention result in a significant improvement in reliable fastening of splinted body parts, wherein the degree of fastening also depends on the feature of the fastening straps.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS

-   13,13′, 14 fastening strap -   18 corrugated plate -   17, 19 covering layer -   20, 21 fastening means (e.g. Velcro strap) -   22, 30 elbow splint -   23 forearm part -   23 upper arm part -   25, 26 fastening strap -   27, 28 reinforcing element -   29 bent area -   30 elbow splint -   31, 32, 33 fastening strap -   34 strain direction -   35 edge seam -   36, 37 cover -   38 loops -   39 hooks -   40 body part     -   41, 44 coil     -   42, 43 reinforcing element -   45 hand -   46 index finger -   47, 48 ultrasound markers -   49 ultrasonic pulse receiver -   50 evaluation unit -   A1-A4 curve (with fastening strap) -   B1-B3 curve (with textile straps, without fastening strap) -   B3-curve (with fabric bandage, without fixing) 

1. Fastening strap for medical splints immobilizing parts of the body, the strap being a flat, longitudinal element made of a rigid and manually deformable corrugated plate having a longitudinal axis corresponding to the direction of the fastening strain, the strap being provided with an external covering layer characterized in that the corrugations of the plate are arranged substantially parallel with the longitudinal axis and the strap is provided with means for releasable coupling the strap to the splint.
 2. The strap as claimed in claim 1, wherein the corrugated plate is made of aluminium.
 3. The strap as claimed in claim 2, wherein the corrugated plate has a thickness of 0.2-1.2 mm.
 4. The strap as claimed in claim 1 wherein said means for releasable coupling the strap to the splint is a Velcro fastener.
 5. The strap as claimed in claim 1 wherein the external covering is on one side or both sides of the corrugated plate, and is made of flexible material.
 6. The strap as claimed in claim 1, wherein reinforcing elements are provided.
 7. A method of immobilizing a body part comprising: arranging a body part on or in a solid base splint; and fixing the body part on or in the solid base splint to immobilize the body part using fastening straps held above the body part and connected to the splint, each of the straps being a flat, longitudinal element made of a rigid and manually deformable corrugated plate having a longitudinal axis corresponding to the direction of the fastening strain, the strap being provided with an external covering layer, characterized in that the corrugations of the plate are arranged substantially parallel with the longitudinal axis and the strap is provided with means for releasable coupling the strap to the splint.
 8. The method of claim 7, wherein the fastening straps are removably connected to the solid base splint.
 9. The method of claim 7, wherein the straps are manually flattened locally, in order to fit to a recess or a projection of the body part.
 10. The method of claim 9, further comprising, applying external fastening straps for fixing splint parts in a desired position.
 11. A method of using a strap as a fixing bandage for a body art comprising: helically winding the strap around the body part, the strap being a flat, longitudinal element made of a rigid and manually deformable corrugated plate having a longitudinal axis corresponding to the direction of the fastening strain, the strap being provided with an external covering layer, characterized in that the corrugations of the plate are arranged substantially parallel with the longitudinal axis and the strap is provided with means for releasable coupling the strap to the splint.
 12. The method of claim 11, wherein the helically wound strap is held in a predetermined configuration by reinforcing elements applied externally on the helical strap.
 13. The method of claim 11, wherein the body part is a finger and the strap is helically wound around the finger to act as a splint for the finger.
 14. A splint assembly containing at least one splint and at least one fastening strap according to claim
 1. 15. The splint assembly according to claim 7, wherein the at least one splint is U shaped.
 16. The splint assembly according to claim 7, wherein the cross section of the splint is mainly semicircular, and has a stable circular form at least at one bandaged segment.
 17. The splint assembly according to claim 6, wherein the splint is a wrist joint splint.
 18. The splint assembly according to claim 7, wherein the splint is a palmar forearm splint.
 19. The splint assembly according to claim 6, wherein the splint is a an upper arm splint.
 20. The splint assembly according to claim 6, wherein the splint is a an elbow splint. 